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Employees Describe an Environment of Paranoia and Fear Inside Automattic

(www.404media.co)
199 points orangeteacups | 4 comments | 17 Oct 24 18:04 UTC | HN request time: 0.431s | source
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gwbas1c ◴[17 Oct 24 21:05 UTC] No.41873779[source]▶
I don't know about anyone else in this thread, but if I was offered a 9 months severance, I'd have to really, really LOVE my job to not take it.

More likely than not I'd find a job before 9 months.

I'd probably make screenshots and videos of the offer and me resigning just to make sure I get my $$.

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1. jacques_chester ◴[17 Oct 24 21:22 UTC] No.41873946[source]▶
9 months sounds like plenty, but don't be hasty.

I've been unemployed for almost a year. I would not take a buyout in this engineering market. It is brutal.

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2. labster ◴[18 Oct 24 00:01 UTC] No.41875068[source]▶
Sure, but WP Engine will need to hire people to work on ForkPress. Or people can start a ForkPress foundation that actually includes stakeholders and get grants to work there. Someone will need to maintain the fork which is definitely coming.

After all, let’s say that WP Engine gives in and pays Matt 10% of their revenue. Then… who’s next? Can Automattic be trusted as a steward of the software, ever? I suppose if Matt sells the company it might be possible. Nope, the fork is inevitable and some company(s) will need to sponsor it.

3. gwbas1c ◴[18 Oct 24 04:33 UTC] No.41876362[source]▶
So have I, and I would still be very tempted to take the 9 months severance.

Don't fool around with tyrants:

With something like this going down, I'd wonder if my employer will even be around in 9 months. I'd also worry that my employer could "go for broke" and just close its doors on me, leaving me with nothing.

So, yeah, I'd have to really love my job to stay.

4. moooo99 ◴[18 Oct 24 06:14 UTC] No.41876760[source]▶
Yeah this job market sucks, but as far as outside looks at Automattic go now, I have a feeling there is more trouble to come. Considering this, I would take the payout as a cushion to find something new, potentially in a new industry outright